Ministers of Tourism from across the Caribbean are heaping praise on Sandals and Beaches Resorts as the Jamaican owned hotel chain continues to invest heavily in the region.

The tributes came as the company unveiled yet another significant expansion project with the opening of the 6-Star Key West Village in the family brand ‘Beaches Resorts’ in Turks and Caicos.

St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism Lorne Theophilus joined his counterparts from across the Caribbean for this 156-room addition that elevates Beaches Tucks and Caicos to an impressive 756 overall rooms.

When that property opened in 1997 it started with less than 50 percent of its room complement today.

Minister Theophilus said Sandals has undoubtedly been a driving economic force in the Caribbean and certainly in St. Lucia with three remarkable properties strategically located along the island’s west coast.

He has even touted St. Lucia’s willingness to accommodate an additional Sandals or Beaches property should the chain’s Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart see the economic viability of such an undertaking.

In the meantime, Sandals Resorts continues in its impressive expansion efforts in the Caribbean building on two recent six-star openings in Grenada and Tucks and Caicos.

Antigua’s Minister of Tourism John Maginley, who was also present at the recent ceremony in the British Overseas Territory, commended both Beaches and Tucks and Caicos for the considerable strides made over the years in the area of tourism.

Beaches is expected to break ground in Antigua in 2015 with a US$150 million economic boost to that economy. And according to the minister, the property will not only add directly to his island’s economic standings, but it will also be an amazing pilot for diversifying the twin-island state’s tourism product.

Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart Sandals and Beaches Resorts continue to deliver “enviable family vacations” with a truly Caribbean product delivered by Caribbean people.

He said Sandals and Beaches are making “amazing” strides with the support of the government of Turks and Caicos and others across region.

“Our success over the years has been our holistic approach to tourism development which includes aggressive training with the Sandals Corporate University, and strong community engagement via the Sandals Foundation,” the Chairman said.

Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Dr. Rufus Ewing, spoke of the 15-year history that his island nation has had with Beaches Resorts and emphasized the consistency of growth for both the property and the island along the way.

IMAGE: TCI Key West ribbon cutting.

Corporate heavyweights to be honoured at Invest Caribbean Now

From News Americas

Hon. Gordon “Butch” Stewart, OJ, CD, Hon. LLD will be on hand to accept the 2014 ICN Leadership Award.

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. June 3, 2014: Five top corporations serving the Caribbean region as well as the man who built a tourism empire from the ground up, will all be honoured in New York City tomorrow, June 4th, as Invest Caribbean Now 2014 gears up for its fourth presentation and awards reception.

This year, DHL Caribbean is being presented the Service Excellence Award – Logistics for its commitment and investment in the Caribbean region and for providing Caribbean customers with quicker courier service while Trinidad & Tobago-based bank, First Citizens, will receive the Service Excellence Award – Banking for its excellent service, investment and commitment to the Caribbean region and the world, in the field of banking and for being one of the highest-rated indigenous financial institution in the English-speaking Caribbean.

DHL’s Caribbean team, led by Managing Director Reiner Wolfs, will be on hand to accept the award at the ICN event in the Cambridge Room at the Harvard Club of New York from 4-6 p.m. tomorrow while First Citizens Investment Services general manager, Jason Julien, and assistant general manager, Sana Ragbir, will accept on behalf of the bank.

HBO Latin America’s 10-member team, led by Javier Figueras, corporate vice president of Affiliate Relations, will receive the ICN 2014 Alliance Award for its commitment to partnership and expansion in the Caribbean region, including with TiVi S.A. – the fast-growing television provider in Haiti while One Caribbean Television’s team, led by founder Brian Lilly will be on hand to receive the ICN Media Visionary Award for its commitment to the region by its service to over millions of Caribbean nationals daily.

The ICN 2014 Visionary Award for showing strategic decision to expand into a much needed inter-regional carrier in the Caribbean region, will be presented to interCaribbean Airways’s team, led by Chairman Lyndon Gardiner while the prestigious 2014 ICN Leadership Award will be presented to the Hon. Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, OJ, CD, Hon. LLD, Chairman of Sandals Resorts International for commitment and dedication to the Caribbean region and its people.

Stewart along with Sandals CEO, Adam Stewart and a six-member delegation will be on hand to accept the award.

Meanwhile, Hollywood actor Malik Yoba will bring greetings to delegates while One Caribbean Television’s Joey Stevens and his side-kick Bob will emcee the ceremony.

The awards presentation and high powered networking reception will wrap up the summit that will kick off in the Harvard Hall of the Club at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow with emcee, WNYW-TV Emmy-winning news anchor, Ernie Anastos; a prayer of prosperity by Rev. Dr. Belgrave Pelle, Dean of the Anglican Church of America; a New York State Welcome by Claire McLeveighn, Vice President of Trade and Investment at Empire State Development and a Beijing Welcome by Dr. Ma, Lin, Deputy Secretary-General of Beijing Municipal Government.

The summit will then move into several panel discussion including: Global Trends & The Caribbean; Beijing-Caribbean Tourism And Investment Opportunity; Introducing The New Trend In Tourism – Medical Tourism; Introducing A New

Trend In The Caribbean – Clean Energy and the Caribbean Diaspora as a source of investment.

Additionally, the first half of the event will include an opening address by ICN founder and chairman, Felicia J. Persaud; a keynote address by Harvard graduate Dr. Isaac J. Newton, of Paramount Communications Consultancy; a spotlight on specific investment opportunities in Trinidad & Tobago with Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications, Sentor Vasant Bharath; an investment announcement on the Caribbean Market Village of St. Lucia and a focus on ‘Advancing Wealth In The Caribbean With Technology,’ from Trinidad-born, LA resident, Anthony Wellington Phills, branding specialist of Disney’s ‘Million Dollar Arm’ and founder of Caribbean Commerce Magazine/Media, Calypso Cloud and Blinglet Inc.

For more log on to ICN’s summit page at Investcaribbeannow.com. This year’s Summit will be live tweeted at twitter.com/InvestingCarib using #investingcarib. Additionally fans can follow the summit at Facebook or facebook.com/investcaribbeannow

ICN PARTNERS

Presenters for ICN 2014 include: Hard Beat Communications, The Caribbean Tourism Organization, One Caribbean Television, The Woody Wilson Collection of Beverly Hills, The PR Newswire, the Caribbean Commerce Magazine, Blinglets, The Caribbean Council for Economic Development, the World Tourism Cities Federation, China Daily, InvesTT, the Chinese Business Development Center, the Sino-American Friendship Association, Martinique Promotion Bureau- CMT USA, CaribPR Wire, News Americas Now, the Jamaica Observer, CaribSeek, WINN-FM and GCaribbean Magazine.

For more on this story go to: http://www.newsamericasnow.com/corporate-heavy-weights-to-be-honoured-at-invest-caribbean-now/

Related story

NBA Champion Dwyane Wade and Wade’s World Foundation partners with Sandals Foundation

By Laura Redpath, Sandals Resorts Intl

NEW YORK, NY — Celebrating its 5th anniversary, The Sandals Foundation, the official philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), has announced a three-year premiere partnership with NBA Champion Dwyane Wade, and his charitable organization, Wade’s World Foundation. Together, the two non-profit foundations will launch programs and initiatives to benefit youth in underserved communities in the Caribbean and Miami.

Adam Stewart, President of The Sandals Foundation and CEO of Sandals Resorts International, proudly takes this step towards fulfilling his commitment to “changing lives, shaping futures, and uplifting spirits” throughout the Caribbean. It is both Stewart’s mission and passion to elevate youth development in this region. This passion is shared by NBA Champion and Team USA Olympic Gold medalist, Dwyane Wade, who founded Wade’s World Foundation (WWF) in 2003 to highlight the education of youth, literacy, health and fatherhood.

“We couldn’t think of a more perfect partner for our foundation than Dwyane Wade,” said Adam Stewart, President of the Sandals Foundation. “His commitment to changing the game, both on and off the court, is iconic. We know that working together we can make a real difference by implementing programs that will have a positive effect amongst children and within the community.

Commenting about the collaboration with the Sandals Foundation, Dwyane Wade said “This partnership was a natural fit for my Wade’s World Foundation as we both share the same mission to provide today’s youth with the building blocks for success. I look forward to extending our reach internationally to make a positive impact in the lives of children.”

The partnership’s first collaboration, Game Changer, will give underserved youth access to planned sports, recreation, healthy lifestyles and family engagement as well as and activities including new camps, afterschool training and coaching sessions. The program is set to debut later this summer.For more information or to donate to the Sandals Foundation’s Game Changers program, please visit www.sandalsfoundation.org. To learn more about Wade’s World Foundation, please visit wadesworldfoundation.org